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Wow! I Heard From Congressman Shuster…(are you ready for this?)

A few posts ago, I wrote a letter to my congressman. Actually, I wrote three letters. A month later, I hear from him. Below is his reply – quite canned – and under it is the reply I just fired off to him. I’m mad. I’m going to do something about this. I don’t know what, but I’m going to do something. Somehow I will get myself in front of the House of Representatives, since he’s blaming them. In essence, he says: “I’m really sorry, but I can’t do a damned thing for you.” And I’ll bet he then went and had lunch with and friend in the House and didn’t even discuss this issue. Nope.
On 2/28/2012 12:13 PM, Shuster@housemail.house.govwrote:

Ms. My Name here

My Address

My City State and Zip

Dear Ms. My Name:

Thank you for contacting me regarding your support for the American Jobs Act of 2011. I appreciate hearing from you and having the benefits of your views.

As you may know, H.R. 12, the American Jobs Act of 2011 would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a tax credit for payroll increases in the last quarter of 2011 and 2012, extend the 100 percent bonus depreciation allowance through 2012, and increase the work opportunity tax credit for hiring unemployed veterans. It would also make specified funds available for the Department of Transportation for highway and rail projects, among others. Should H.R. 12 come before the full House of Representatives for a vote, I will be certain to keep your views in mind.

In these challenging economic times, we need to ensure that we do everything we can to create jobs at home and put Americans back to work. This is why the House of Representatives has passed over twenty job-creating bills to stimulate the economy and help Americans get back to work. Unfortunately, the Senate has not taken action on any of these bills. These pieces of bipartisan legislation passed by the Republican majority include bills reducing our dependence on foreign oil, removing bureaucratic barriers to energy permitting, and made it easier for entrepreneurs to have access to vital job-creating capital.

Again, thank you for contacting me. For your convenience, you can receive further information on issues important to the Ninth District at http://www.house.gov/shuster/. Your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

Sincerely,

BILL SHUSTER

Member of Congress

WFS:dw

My reply:

Dear Congressman Shuster:How much do you really know about corporate America? That payroll tax credit doesn’t do a thing to provide more jobs. It just means that Mr. CEO gets a bigger tax write-off. I’m not an unemployed veteran, so while I think the work opportunity tax credit for unemployed veterans is a great start, it’s not going to get me hired. Won’t even get me an interview.

As far as the 100% bonus depreciation allowance goes? Have you worked in the private sector in an entry level position since 2000? None of these measures will help create jobs. They will cause many CEOs to grin at each other over their morning coffee while they check their financial statements, though.

The private sector must be mandated to hire the unemployed FIRST – before even considering those who are already employed. Those who are employed don’t need jobs. Those who are unemployed; particularly those who are long-term unemployed, are looking at – well – exactly nothing.

I’m 50 years old. I’ve been unemployed for 52 weeks. I can’t get a job – not even flipping burgers, and believe me, I’ve tried.

Congressman Shuster, what do you propose for those like me, whose benefits are due to run out soon? Do we all just drive off a bridge, en masse? That’s not sarcasm. Where are we supposed to live? HOW are we supposed to live? Corporations are blithely just throwing resumes like mine into file 13. I’m “too old.” I use my health benefits for something other than wellness checkups – at least I do when I have health benefits.

Mr. Congressman, next time you spend $50 at lunch with cronies, think about how many groceries that money could buy someone like me. Think about the fact that I don’t qualify for food stamps, and so I have to make ends meet on approximately $1,000 a month, after taxes. After my rent, car payment, cell phone bill, and the small sundries of life (internet connection so I can job hunt), I don’t have $100 to spend on food if I want to have any gas in my car in case someone might want to interview me. Granted, those opportunities are few and far between, but one must be prepared.

I spend approximately $50 a month on food. Think about that next time you order an arugula salad…

When was the last time YOU ate Ramen?

What do I want you to do? Easy. I want you and all your fellow congressmen/women, to live as an unemployed individual in this country lives – for six weeks. I want you to attempt to pay all your bills on the money paid to you, and then I want you to go back to your well-paid jobs, your comfortable offices, and I want you to write a bill (and push it through) that states corporate America MUST SHOW PROOF THAT THEY ARE NOT ONLY CONSIDERING, BUT INTERVIEWING AND HIRING THE UNEMPLOYED BEFORE THEY EVEN LOOK AT THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY EMPLOYED.

Our nation is in a crisis situation. Can you not see that? Maybe it hasn’t affected you, personally. Trade places with me, and then tell me what you think should be done.

Our corporations have control of our government. Take that control away from them, regulate them, and tell them to suck it up – the same way they tell their employees to suck it up when they lay them off and then say they won’t hire the unemployed.

10 thoughts on “Wow! I Heard From Congressman Shuster…(are you ready for this?)”

Thank you Tracy! I keep praying my writing will do some good, somewhere, for someone. It’s an outlet, that’s for sure. I’m also more and more convinced that I will have to make something happen for myself, by myself, and without help from any corporate entity. I will hire myself. I’ve already started, and it’s a lot of work, which has been put on the back burner while I moved (again!) but now that all my worldly goods are here in my new place, I’m free to work and unpack. I’m setting up my “office” first and the rest can wait until such time as I feel financially secure enough to unpack it. (snort!)

I liked, in the reply from Shuster, how “it’s all the Senate’s” fault- (I just see a little, snotty-nosed kid stamping their feet & pointing)…no responsibility. AT ALL> None. You made valid points & the canned reply was pitiful. But- you wrote & you posted their hideous & worthless reply for the world to see- good on ya! Maybe you need to make a section where all you do is ask for & post these dim-witted, “non-replies” that get handed back to “we, the people”? Would make for interesting reading, for sure…

And you poor thing! I feel your pain on the constant moving (your way of life, lately)…I’ve done quite a bit myself- though have been at least planted in the current house since Nov. 2009…that’s a very long time for me & the kids. Prior to this place, we lived out of boxes & suitcases- never quite fully unpacking. I’m now waiting to see a Dr. & physio to get a final diagnosis on car crash injuries. In the meantime, like you, I believe my best bet is ME. I’m going to attempt to start up a business & am working on that as we speak! 🙂

I’m giving serious thought to moving all my employment/unemployment/work related posts to a new blog. If I do, I’ll post a link to point in that direction. I fully intend to keep writing and posting the non-replies I get. His reply was the equivalent of “It’s my sandbox and the house stole the best corner, so I’m taking my toys and leaving!”

What a bastard. He’s nice and safe with his $175K a year – nothing to worry about, no issues regarding food or shelter and I’m sure all his kids get to go to the best schools. He probably buys a new car every two years – I don’t know, but it seems to fit. It’s all conjecture on my part but my gut tells me he doesn’t give two flying red ones about his unemployed constituents.

“It would also make specified funds available for the Department of Transportation for highway and rail projects, among others. Should H.R. 12 come before the full House of Representatives for a vote, I will be certain to keep your views in mind.
In these challenging economic times, we need to ensure that we do everything we can to create jobs at home and put Americans back to work. This is why the House of Representatives has passed over twenty job-creating bills to stimulate the economy and help Americans get back to work. Unfortunately, the Senate has not taken action on any of these bills.”

If this weren’t so sad, I’d laugh. “I will be certain to keep your views in mind.” He’ll keep them in mind while he’s voting to put even MORE people out of work.

Trace, I would love to stay planted where I am right now. This place suits me. I MUST find work. The only way I’m going to do that is to create my own business – I’m positive of that. So off I go, getting my office set up today and working toward that end. I may not be online much over the next few weeks, but who knows – maybe I will, just to post updates. Right now I can’t say from one minute to the next what is going to happen and instead of one day at a time, I take it one minute at a time. That’s how I live my life. Life can change so quickly and if anyone had told me a year ago, I’d be living with the cows in PA, I’d have laughed at them. I’m happy to be living with the cows in PA, but I do want to stop moving – NOW. I want it to end.

Oh- and did you notice where Mr. Congressman friggin thanks me for my SUPPORT of the Jobs Act? I didn’t support it. No where in my initial or subsequent emails to him did I evince ANY support of it. To the contrary, I denounced it as pabulum to feed the “undesirables” while stroking the bank accounts of corporate CEOs.

I’m guessing, gee, not sure why, but I’ll just hazard it – that Mr. Congressman didn’t even READ my email. One of his clever aides read it and responded like a good little parrot.

Doesn’t surprise me. Doesn’t even chap my ass. Don’t think my blood pressure has risen even one point. It’s simply hammered another nail in the coffin of corporate america. They will wind up unemploying themselves. Soon there won’t be enough people with enough money to buy their cheap-assed, outsourced goods. We’re all going to be too busy bartering with one another, buying used goods from craigslist, and growing our own gardens.

I recently read where someone had written that our elderly population should be encouraged to move back into urban areas so they wouldn’t have to rely on family for transportation, thus economizing on fuel, etc. Excuse me? I believe our elders should stay put and the family unit should come back together – a unit where everyone takes care of everyone else. What, we’re going to populate our urban areas with the elderly to economize on fuel??? WTF?

America has gone crazy. Daily we sink to a new low. People, socialism is not fascism.

The pleasures of the world are deceitful; they promise more than they give. They trouble us in seeking them, they do not satisfy us when possessing them and they make us despair in losing them.~Madame de Lambert obtained from Deceit Quotes